Serpent Stream

EXT. VILLAGE – DUSK

The village sits in quiet perfection, as if frozen in time. The river flows lazily, reflecting the soft orange of the setting sun.

EXT. RIVERBANK – EVENING

MIRA (30s, calm, grounded) sits by the river, skipping stones. Her movements are rhythmic, controlled. ROWAN (30s, restless) stands a few feet away, looking out at the water, his brow furrowed. He stares at the ripples as if they hold answers.

ROWAN
(quietly, to himself)
It doesn’t feel right.

MIRA
(without looking up)
What doesn’t?

Rowan walks closer, almost pacing.

ROWAN
The river. The village. Everything. It’s too... still. No one changes. No one leaves. Even the air feels the same every day.

MIRA
(skips another stone)
It’s the way it’s always been.

Rowan stops pacing, looks at Mira with growing frustration.

ROWAN
Doesn’t that bother you?

Mira finally looks up at him, her eyes calm, unwavering.

MIRA
Why should it?

A beat. Rowan clenches his jaw.

EXT. VILLAGE – NIGHT

Rowan walks through the quiet streets. Lights flicker inside identical houses. He passes people—faces he’s seen his whole life—exactly the same. He notices small details: A woman hanging laundry, a man sitting on a porch, both repeating the same movements.

He walks faster. His breath quickens.

INT. ROWAN’S HOUSE – LATE NIGHT

Rowan sits at a cluttered table, staring at a map of the village. He traces a route out of town with his finger. His hand trembles slightly.

Suddenly, a knock at the door. He freezes.

EXT. ROWAN’S HOUSE – CONTINUOUS

Mira stands at the door, calm as ever. Rowan hesitates, then opens the door slightly. He looks disheveled, on edge.

MIRA
(softly)
You’ve been thinking about leaving again, haven’t you?

ROWAN
(tense)
What if I have?

Mira steps closer, unflinching.

MIRA
You can’t leave, Rowan. No one leaves.

ROWAN
(under his breath)
I did once.

Mira tilts her head, studying him.

MIRA
Did you?

Rowan falters, uncertainty creeping into his expression. He steps back.

ROWAN
You... you remember when I was gone. I was gone for years.

MIRA
(calm)
Rowan, you never left.

Rowan’s breathing quickens. He looks around the room, his hands gripping the back of a chair for support.

ROWAN
Stop. Stop doing this.

Mira moves closer, her tone unnervingly gentle.

MIRA
You’re part of this place. You always have been. And in the end... you’ll be the same.

FLASHCUT: The village. The river. The people. All frozen in place.

FLASHCUT: Rowan’s face reflected in the water—but it’s not his face. It shifts, morphs into different people from the village, all blending into one.

INT. ROWAN’S HOUSE – CONTINUOUS

Rowan blinks, shaking his head violently, trying to break free from the creeping sense of unreality.

ROWAN
(angry)
I’m not like them! I left! I... I changed.

Mira, now standing just inches away, leans in close. Her voice is a whisper.

MIRA
You’ve always been the same. The river brings you back. It always does.

Rowan stares at her, eyes wide, terrified.

EXT. RIVERBANK – MORNING

Rowan stands at the edge of the river, staring into the water. The current is slow, deceptively calm.

He takes a step closer, his reflection distorted in the ripples. His face shifts again, morphing into the faces of others. The water whispers, pulling him in.

Behind him, Mira watches in silence.

FLASHBACK:

Rowan walking through the village, younger, confident. He reaches the river, determination in his eyes.

He steps into a boat and rows away, watching the village fade into the distance. But as the sun sets, the river seems to circle, the banks closing in. He rows harder, faster—but the village reappears on the horizon.

FLASHBACK:

Rowan returns to the village, older, disoriented, finding everything exactly as he left it. People greet him like he never left at all.

EXT. RIVERBANK – PRESENT

Rowan drops to his knees, staring at his reflection, gripping the earth beneath him as if trying to ground himself in reality.

MIRA
(softly, from behind)
You’ve been running in circles, Rowan. There’s nowhere else to go.

Rowan’s reflection stares back at him, the faces shifting, blending. He’s no longer sure which one is his own.

ROWAN
(hoarse whisper)
Then who am I?

Mira kneels beside him, her voice a cold echo.

MIRA
You’re the same as all of us. In the end, that’s all there is.

FADE OUT.